Ivanov, Pisanu to discuss security interaction

Russia's National Security Council (NSC) Secretary Igor Ivanov and Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu are to focus on Russian-Italian interaction for the sake of ensuring national and regional security against the international terrorist threat here today, RIA Novosti learned from diplomatic sources.

In their words, Ivanov and Pisanu had reached mutual understanding on this issue during their November 2003 talks, that is, when the then Russian foreign minister Ivanov had accompanied the President of Russia to Italy. At that time, Ivanov and Pisanu had signed the Russian-Italian treaty on jointly fighting terrorism and organized crime.

The Italian Interior Minister, who arrived in Russia July 26 on the invitation of Russia's Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, has already negotiated with his Russian counterpart. Both men discussed the interaction of their respective departments on numerous issues, including efforts to cope with organized crime, illegal migration, money-laundering operations, as well as anti-terrorist operations.

The international community knows that Italy's Interior Minister actively supports efforts to fight international terrorism, i.e. militant Islamists.

Talking to RIA Novosti, Pisanu noted that the Government of Italy had reacted seriously enough to the statements of two Iraqi extremist groups, which threaten to perpetrate terrorist acts, unless Italy withdraws its troops from Iraq. According to the Minister, security has been tightened around more than 13,500 facilities, including the Vatican; this is being done in order to prevent possible terrorist acts.